Someone to Love Him
by colormaster
Summary: A side story of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Byakuya finds the one who is perfect for him.
1. Chapter 1

Fujiwara, Naoko was sitting by her bedroom window, watching the sakura blossoms fall. She was tired of all of her family asking her when she was going to get married. She sighed. When would she get married? She had never left the manor, so how was she going to find a husband? Her father was the head of the Fujiwara Clan one of noble families of the Seireitei. Therefore her parents had arranged a marriage many years ago when she was young but the young man had died in a hollow attack. She had never seen a hollow but heard they were very dangerous. She had refused further matchmaking, claiming that the grief of losing one suitor was enough for a lifetime. She continued to stare at the falling blossoms, wondering if she should ask her mother to start matchmaking again.

Kuchiki, Byakuya woke one morning to the sound of Takahashi, Hotaru yelling at someone… again. Why did she have to be at his house so early? Oh yeah… she was supposed to come by for a fitting. His family and the other nobles thought that he should marry again and produce offspring. The idea made him cringe, especially when he remembered that they all would be watching his and Her every move after the wedding that his family decided to move up. A fact he still had not told Hotaru and a deed he was scared to tell her for fear of her wrath again. Maybe he should get Renji to tell her, she wouldn't try to kill him but she might also not believe him. She'd say stop joking and then lightly punch him in the arm.

She would likely try and chop his head off if Byakuya was to tell her himself. He wasn't afraid of anything or anyone… except her.

"BYAKUYA!"

"What is it," he said as he went to open the door to his bedroom. One look at her face told him all he needed to know. Someone had told her about the wedding date being moved up.

"Uh oh," he thought. "Look here it's too early in the morning to be making…" the look she gave him said "shut it or I'll shut it for you" in her case she meant it literally. "um I'm sorry about not telling you sooner but I… I was…"

"You were what?"

"I was scared you'd try to kill me again," he said looking at her bare feet. He sighed.

"Good."

"What?"

"It's good that you're scared," she said softly.

"What do you mean?"

"Byakuya… I… I have told you this before, but I don't want to marry you. I don't love you and I don't think I ever can."

"I know," he said sadly. "Can you at least try." He was glad no one was around this morning. He would hate it if someone could see and hear how scared and vulnerable he was right now at this moment when he finally told her how he felt. "Hotaru I… I... I love you."

"You what?"

"I love you, Taru. I love you."

Tears fell from Hotaru's eyes then came a shaking sob. Byakuya looked at her with such concern and worry so apparent in his eyes. He reached for her and she let him hold her. He shouldn't be calling her that, he knew that when he called her Taru she just fell to pieces. That was the name Keiichiro used to call her. That was the name that only He called her. She probably still remembers his scent, the feel of his arms around her, the way he held her after watching her sick father die, and the way they had shared ice cream and kisses. She still missed Him. Byakuya did not mean to use it against her. He knew what the name meant to her. He did want her to know that he loved her and thought maybe just maybe she would reconsider. Hotaru pushed Byakuya away and ran. He hoped she didn't run out of the soul society again this time.

Byakuya went after her after a few seconds. After a while of walking he saw two people sitting on the ground. As he got closer he recognized that the couple was Hotaru and Lieutenant Hisagi. He watched as Hotaru reached up and kissed Hisagi. Hisagi hesitated but soon wrapped his arms around her waist and she wrapped hers around his neck. If he didn't know better he would have thought these two had been lovers for a long time with the way they kissed. He grew sad and decided he needed to do something. He didn't know what to do so he continued to walk.

"She doesn't love me, but it looked as if she might be falling for Hisagi. What does he have that I don't? Tattoos? How could she do this," he kept on walking just as Hotaru had run earlier. He went all through the Soul Society avoiding the place he saw her kiss him. He was deep in his thoughts when he bumped into someone.

It was his lieutenant, Renji. "What's up Captain," the red head asked.

"Nothing," the sadness evident in his voice.

"Um Captain? You sure?"

"Positive…ly not."

"What happened?"

"I saw… I saw…Hotaru…kiss Lieutenant Hisagi."

"WHAT?"

"You heard me, she kissed him."

"Dang that was fast. He told me that you should be telling her that you love her."

"I did," he said softly.

"What? Couldn't hear you."

"I told her that I loved her but she ran off crying. I don't understand. What did I do wrong?"

"You called me Taru," Hotaru's voice said out of nowhere.

"How did you… when did you…"

"Just now."

"What does calling you Taru have to do with you kissing lieutenant Hisagi?"

"You saw that?"

"Yes," Byakuya said sadly. Hotaru looked embarrassed.

"I'm sorry Byakuya, but I told you that I didn't love you… can't love you. I'm so sorry. I wish I could change that fact. You seem like a nice guy once you get pass the cold exterior. I love my Keiichiro. He was the only one who ever called me Taru. When you called me that I remembered everything that we used to do together. The way you and him look and sound so similar just didn't help matters much. His hair was shorter than yours and I begged him to let it grow but he never would. Then I watched as he lived and I didn't. I had to leave him as he called my name as he cried over my dead body. I had to go… I had to…" fresh tears streamed down her face. "I miss him so much… he understood me… he knew me better than anyone… he was the only one who showed me what real love was all about. He was the first person to see past the bad-a$$ mask I wore. He saw me for who I really was and accepted that I wanted to portray myself as this bad-a$$ little girl who was tough as nails."

"You still are tough as nails," Renji said. "You scared the crap out of the guy who is the king of indifference... the guy who everyone except the ones older than him and captain Kenpachi are afraid of."

"Thanks, Renji."

"No Problem Captain."

"He's right you know, Hotaru. You can kick my butt. You can also be sweet and caring. You work hard and help those around. For the most part you follow the rules."

"That's sweet Byakuya." She smiled.

"But it's not enough is it?"

"I'm sorry but no it's not." She stepped closer and gave Byakuya Kuchiki a kiss. "One day you will find someone better for you than me. Someone you can be yourself with."

"Thank you, Hotaru. I will do what I can to get us both out of the marriage. For you." Hotaru smiled and walked away.

After thinking for a while Byakuya actually felt happy, happy that he could do something for Hotaru. For the first time he understood how Renji felt when Renji thought that Rukia liked that orange haired kid instead of him. Even though he didn't know exactly how that whole thing was going, he was happy that Rukia and Renji seemed to be friends again. He also knew how it felt to be free. He hadn't known it at the time but focusing on trying to get Hotaru to love him had made him feel trapped. He also felt trapped by his responsibility as the head of the Kuchiki clan. He just had to find a way out of the whole marriage to Hotaru thing. Could the High Commander help him and Hotaru? He had to find a way, he just had to.

Byakuya then did something he hasn't done in years. He laughed. That's right he laughed a nice belly laugh. He would find the girl that was right for him or maybe he had already found her in Hisana. Why did she have to die and leave him all alone? He had Rukia but it wasn't the same. He wanted Hisana yet he had wanted Hotaru. What was going to happen to the happiness he once had at the thought of being married again, at the thought that he would have someone to love and someone to love him back? He needed to be loved. He deserved it, right?


	2. Chapter 2

After thinking for a while Byakuya actually felt happy, happy that he could do something for Hotaru. For the first time he understood how Renji felt when Renji thought that Rukia liked that orange haired kid instead of him. Even though he didn't know exactly how that whole thing was going, he was happy that Rukia and Renji seemed to be friends again. He also knew how it felt to be free. He hadn't known it at the time but focusing on trying to get Hotaru to love him had made him feel trapped. He also felt trapped by his responsibility as the head of the Kuchiki clan. He just had to find a way out of the whole marriage to Hotaru thing. Could the High Commander help him and Hotaru? He had to find a way, he just had to.

Byakuya then did something he hasn't done in years. He laughed. That's right he laughed a nice belly laugh. He would find the girl that was right for him or maybe he had already found her in Hisana. Why did she have to die and leave him all alone? He had Rukia but it wasn't the same. He wanted Hisana yet he had wanted Hotaru. What was going to happen to the happiness he once had at the thought of being married again, at the thought that he would have someone to love and someone to love him back? He needed to be loved. He deserved it, right?

Byakuya had thought long and hard about how to get his family to cancel the wedding and planned marriage all together. He found that telling them that she had worked in a bar, ran away from her responsibilities, and probably had bad habits worked best. They canceled the arrangement almost immediately. It made him very happy. It also made Hotaru very happy. Now he hoped that his family would leave him alone about the whole marriage and production of offspring thing.

Several weeks pass

Naoko had been thinking of how to get her family off her back for several weeks. She had yet to figure it out. She had heard about the canceled Kuchiki wedding a few weeks back but she had not heard why it had been canceled. She wondered why the head of the Kuchiki clan would cancel a wedding after it had been so close to the day of the wedding. Whoever he was having marry his son must have done something very bad. She went to sleep thinking that the son must be feeling very sad.

Sometime during the night she heard a noise and woke all the way up to see what the noise was. To her surprise she saw a figure standing in the corner.

Renji and Byakuya were in the world of the living on a mission to help Rukia's friend Kurosaki, Ichigo (the orange haired kid) fight a group of hollows he was having trouble killing. Ichigo said that the group was large and would double team him so he was having a hard time. Ichigo lead the two toward the place the hollows always showed up. However what was waiting there for them was not what they were looking for. In the middle of the alley there was a person. As they cautiously approached they saw that the person was a woman and she was not dressed as someone should be dressed in the middle of the day. Ichigo knelt next to her and checked her for signs of life. He noticed that she was alive but had a head wound. He carefully picked her up and took her to his father's clinic. The other two followed him with their guards up, prepared should anything attack them.

However, when they arrived Ichigo's dad Isshin said, "How am I supposed to help when I can't see you?"

"Oh right," Ichigo said.

"Urahara," Renji asked. Byakuya did not sat anything.

"Guess going there would be best since he probably can see her," Ichigo answered. So the trio headed toward Urahara's shop.

Urahara, Kisuke said, "Well well what do we have here?"

"Kisuke, we found this girl tied up in an alley. She seems to have a serious head wound."

"Bring her in and I will see what we can do." Ichigo carried the girl into the back of the shop where the shop owner lived and put her down in a bedroom. "Please wait in the living room while I see to her."

Ichigo and Renji left him to tend to the girl. They found Byakuya sitting in the living room sipping on a cup of tea.

"Do you think she will be ok," Ichigo asked.

"I don't know. I hope we got her here in time. That wound look really bad."

"Yeah I hope so too."

After a long while Kisuke came into the livingroom and announced, "The woman will hopefully be alright but I will know better after she wakes."

"She is still out?"

"Yes she is unconscious. She took a blow to the head. Where did you find her?"

"In that alley where all those hollow have been gathering. She was tied up, just lying there in the middle of it," Ichigo answered.

"Were there any Hollows around?"

"None. They seemed to have disappeared. I did not sense any int he area."

"I sensed lingering spiritual pressure around the woman that did not belong to her. She has an immense amount on her own," Byakuya added.

"What kind of lingering spiritual pressure? Have you felt it before," Kisuke asked.

"I could tell it did not belong to the woman and that the person it did belong to was angry or upset."

"Are you sure you have not felt or sensed this sort before?"

"It seems familiar but I can't place it."

"Should we investigate," Renji asked.

"Maybe you should," Kisuke suggested.

Byakuya rose from his seat and said, "Come on Renji. We shall investigate this matter. Take care of her, Urahara." Renji got up and followed Byakuya out of the shop and back to the scene.


	3. Chapter 3

"Those blasted hollows! Where had they come from," he thought. He returned to where he left his captive and he hoped she was alright. He had not meant to hit her so hard but she struggled. He needed her alive, just not conscious especially if he was going to get what he wanted from her old man. He reached the alley way where he left the woman and he looked around she was gone. How? She was bound and gagged. Someone must have come by and taken her, but who? He suddenly felt strong spiritual pressure. It could be the people who took the woman who had come back to check on the scene. He quickly hid his spiritual pressure and disappeared so that he could watch in order to see who was coming.

From his hiding place he could almost see the entire alley. There were two of them and he recognized them both. The first was Captain Kuchiki and the second was his lieutenant Abarai, Renji. What were they doing here?

\—•–—•—/

Byakuya entered the alley first and felt that same lingering reiatsu (spiritual pressure) but this felt newer. "Whoever took her was here recently," he said.

"Seems like whoever he is he is not happy."

"And up to no good I am sure."

"Why else would he tie up such a cute girl and leave her in an alley? It is obviously not something good."

"Who could it be? It seems slightly familiar but I can't seem to place it. Can you, Renji?"

"No I cannot. However you are right it does seem familiar. There is also traces of her reiatsu. She seems to be strong how did she get kidnapped?"

"She may not have been trained. She seems to me to have been sheltered."

"What do you mean?"

"Her reiatsu seems familiar as well. If she was as strong as I think she is she would not have gone down easily."

"Do you think the guy is hiding, watching us and try to follow us back to her?"

"He can and he might but he will not succeed in taking her."

"You got that right!"

"Nothing more we can do here. Maybe you should return to the Seireitei and inquire about anyone losing someone."

"You think that is a good idea."

"I can handle things here on my own."

"Yes Captain. Let's go."

They headed back towards Urahara's shop, but Renji stopped along the way and went back to the Seireitei. Byakuya continued on alone. No one was following him.

\—•—•—/

"Those blasted Shinigami," he said as he watched them leave the alley. They were going to ruin everything. He had to get back and stop them from finding out that he had kidnapped a Noblewoman, and worse yet if they found out that she was the daughter of the head of the Fujiwara Clan. He would return to the Seireitei as well. Maybe if he was lucky they would blame the Kuchiki Clan since their head had found her.

He arrived back in the Seireitei near his home moments before his master came to find him.

"Kohaku! Kohaku!"

"Yes Fujiwara-sama?"

"Prepare to leave. I have business to attend to."

"Yes, sir."

\—•—•—/

Byakuya returned to Urahara's shop. He entered and had a seat in the livingroom. Moments later Kisuke brought some tea and joined him.

"Find out anything?"

"No."

"How unfortunate."

"Indeed."

"Renji went back to find some information?"

"Yes. How is she?"

"She is alive. That is all I can tell you. However if she does not wake soon, it will not be good."

"There also seems to be no trace of the hollow that were giving Ichigo Kurosaki such trouble."

"No trace at all?"

"None at all. They seem to have been taken care of by whoever brought her to that alley."

"Interesting."

After sitting in silence for a while they hear someone scream. They rushed to the room where to girl was. She was sitting up and had tears streaming down her face.

"It is alright my dear,"Kisuke tells her as he kneels beside her.

She looks at him and asks, "Who are you?"

"I am Kisuke Urahara. This is my home and that over there is Byakuya Kuchiki. Are you alright?"

"Yes, it seems I have been a burden. I am sorry."

"It's alright. It was my pleasure. Do you remember what happened?"

She thought a moment and said, "No I don't remember anything." She started to cry.

"It is alright. You took a hard knock to the back of your head. Hopefully your memories will come back eventually. Do you remember your name or..."

"I can't...remember anything... N..Nothing at all."

Byakuya frowned at the news that she didn't remember who she was or what had happened to her. He would learn nothing of use from her so he hoped Renji would have better luck.

\—•—•—/

Renji returned to the Seireitei. He went straight to the one person that knew all of the secret whispers that passed around the Seireitei. However that prove to be unfruitful. He went all over the Seireitei trying to find even a hint about someone going missing, but nothing had popped up yet. Byakuya would not be happy with him or with the lack of results. He would wait a few days to return to his captain to see if a little more time could produce any information.


End file.
